


The Masks We Wear

by VictoriaAGrey



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Excessive Drinking, First Kiss, First Time, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Humor, M/M, Storytelling, Team as Family, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 22:50:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8420194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriaAGrey/pseuds/VictoriaAGrey
Summary: In which we find out what really happened to Danny in Hoboken on Halloween '02, Steve gets in touch with his feminine side, and Kono is Devious.





	

**Author's Note:**

> ever wanted the story about how Danny got stun gunned? yeah me too

Swirling around the straw in his mixed drink of pomegranate blueberry juice and Sprite, Steve laughed as Lou bemoaned the trials and tribulations of raising a rebellious teenage girl. The week at Five-0 had been slow, and considering what they had all been through emotionally for the last few months, he was willing to take it for the respite it was. Steve decided they should cap it off with dinner at his place - just the five of them - to check in with each other, make sure that they were all still good personally. If the way they were all comfortably lounging in chairs on the lanai was any indication, they were doing just fine.

“My daughter kissing some boy who can’t even wear his damn hat straight and then posting a picture of it on Instagram,” Lou groaned in exaggerated disgust. “It’s like she’s trying to kill her old man through social media.”

Kono giggled as she took a sip of her martini. “Have you met the lovely gentleman yet?”

“No! She says he’s not her boyfriend and that it was just a part of some stupid game.”

“Sounds like someone was giving Truth or Dare a go,” Chin added sagely, as if he were extolling spiritual advice and not confirming Lou’s worst nightmare.

“Don’t remind me. I remember the crap me and my friends used to pull in the name of that game and I’m not comforted by the thought.”

Danny extended a leg and poked Lou’s thigh. “You can’t drop a line like that and not follow it through.”

“He’s right, Lou,” Steve said, patting Danny’s arm in a show of solidarity. “What’s the worst thing you had to do because you were dared?”

Shifting in his seat, Lou pretended to be suddenly interested in the light rainfall. “Jumped into Lake Michigan.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It was winter, Chin! Not to mention I was naked as the day I was born.” Lou had to raise his voice in order to be heard over the team’s howling laughter, his smiling betraying his tone. “First time I contemplated kids. Thirteen and there I was, naked, freezing my ass off, and I’m thinking ‘maybe I won’t be able to have kids now.’”

Steve wiped a tear away from the corner of his eye. “Please tell me you told Renee.”

“First thing I told her when we got serious. ‘I love you, baby. By the way, I may not be able to give you kids because I jumped naked into Lake Michigan in winter before I hit puberty.’”

Whether his story was truly that funny or it had just been too long since they all had a laugh together, Steve couldn’t say, but it felt good. They were laughing for several minutes and right when it looked like it was about to die out, someone would start laughing again, spurring more laughter in everyone else. When they finally did calm down, the pleasant mood stayed.

“I can’t even remember the last time I played,” Kono said wistfully. “Probably around the same age.”

“That means you never got to the really good stuff.”

Lou turned to face Danny, his smile evil and ready for retribution. “Looks like it’s your turn to follow through.”

One of the things Steve took pride in was his ability to read Danny like a book. That’s why he knew when he sat forward and clasped his hands in front of him, he was about to tell a doozy of a story.

Looking straight at Kono, Danny grinned and started. “Hoboken, Halloween ’02.”

“Yeeeesssss!” she cheered, her excitement making her throw her arms in the air without a care for her martini spilling out over the rim of her glass.

Every year since Kono learned about Danny getting stun gunned in some mishap on Halloween, she made a point to ask Danny for the story on Halloween. He never gave it and it turned into a sort of game with them, her always holding out hope that he would one day tell her and him pretending it may finally be the year before bursting her bubble and keeping it under wraps. This moment for her truly was years in the making and Steve, in some warped way, was happy for her.

“First off, I would like it noted that I was 26 at the time and not as wise and worldly as I am today.”

“Wise and worldly?” Steve laughed. “You were -”

“Boss, I love you, but you are not ruining my moment,” Kono interrupted, hand out to shush him and her attention focused entirely on Danny. Steve put his hands up in surrender.

“Thank you, Kono,” Danny said in Steve’s direction, siding with her. “Also, terrible, terrible things happen when I’ve done tequila shots.”

“Same, bruh.” Everyone turned in surprise to look at Chin. “Story for another time.”

After making Chin promise to tell the story next time, Danny took a deep breath and started the story they were all eager to hear. “So it’s the first Halloween after Gracie was born and me and Rachel are thinking we should live a little and go with Matty to this stupid Halloween party he kept asking us to go to, so we got Ma to watch Grace for the night. And Rachel, let me tell you, Rachel has _never_ been sexier than she was that night in her Sandy from Grease costume. Those tight, black spandex pants -” Danny cut himself off for once, biting his lip and turning away, his breath shallow.

“You need a minute there, Danny Zuko?” Lou teased.

“Do you – woah woah _woah_! Wait a minute!” Kono leaned forward and slapped Danny’s knee to get his attention. “Did you dress as Danny Zuko!?”

Danny turned back to look at her with a slightly glazed look. “What? Oh, yeah. I went for the full greaser look, leather T-Birds jacket and all. I even sprayed that temporary dye shit in my hair so it was black for that ridiculous Elephant’s trunk style.”

Kono sat back and exchanged a look with Steve, fanning her face. “Hell, _I_ might need that minute.”

Knowing Kono was too perceptive for her own good, Steve wasn’t sure she didn’t catch his look of abject arousal before he was able to tamp it down. Steve shifted in his chair and wondered if what she said was for her benefit or his, because the sentiment could certainly be turned around on him.

“Yeah, so as I was saying, me and Rachel dressed up as Danny and Sandy from Grease and we headed out to Hoboken for the night. We get to the address and it looks like a scene out of Animal House. People with red Solo cups running across the lawn, music blaring, house loaded. I’m more tempted to arrest everyone in sight instead of party, but Rachel looked more amused than anything and I sure as hell wasn’t going to disappoint her, so we head inside.

“I find Matty in the kitchen chatting up this couple dressed up as Poison Ivy and Batman and to be honest, I still have no idea which one he was hitting on more, but I digress. I walk up to him and he completely flips out, which looked even more insane since he was wearing some crazy Mad Hatter get up. He introduced us to the couple, who it turns out own the house, and we start doing shots.

“Now keep in mind, it’s been over a year or so since I’ve gotten well and truly drunk because I’d been going home most nights to be with Rachel and Grace, so my tolerance is already shot to hell. Rachel is just sipping at a beer and talking to whoever wanders into the kitchen and then you have me, Matty, and Mr. and Mrs. DC getting plastered. Between the four of us, we finish off a bottle of tequila in an hour and we are a mess.”

Steve is honestly amazed that Danny is currently sitting beside him. “Jesus, Danny! How many shots did you do?”

“Four or five, not including the beer I drank,” he responded, shrugging his shoulders like it’s nothing. “I honestly don’t remember.”

Lou shook his head, looking as stunned as Steve feels. “My man, I gotta tell you, this story is making you sound as crazy as Steve.”

Danny glared in Lou’s direction. “If you’re gonna get nasty, I’m gonna leave.”

“No!” Kono hit Lou’s arm. “I’ve worked twice as many years as you’ve been with Five-0 to get this story. Play nice.”

Chin nodded in Kono’s direction. “I’m with her. This is already shaping up to be one of the better stories I’ve ever heard.”

“Fine, I apologize,” Lou relented with a smile. “Steve is still way crazier than you.”

“Anybody else wanna throw me under the bus?”

“It’s okay, babe,” Danny said in a soothing tone, reaching over and giving his hand a quick squeeze. “You know you deserve it.”

Once they all got in a good laugh at Steve’s expense, Danny started again.

“Okay, so I’m drunk by this point, maybe moreso than I’ve ever been, and Matty throws out there that he hasn’t played Truth or Dare since we were kids. The superheroes exclaim that that should stop ‘right fucking now’ and start a round. Everyone has their turn and then it’s mine. I very, very stupidly pick ‘dare’ and Poison Ivy tells me that her costume from last year is in the closet of their bedroom and I have to go put it on. I give Rachel a kiss on the cheek and tell her and the chick in lingerie she’s talking to where I’m going. They wave me off and I work my way through the crowd to the bedroom.

“I open the door with the little metal thing you can put in the lock to open it -”

“Skeleton key,” Steve helpfully added.

“- yeah whatever. I grabbed it from the top of the doorframe and got into the room. Thankfully no one else got the bright idea to do that so the room is clear. I open the closet and pull down the box labeled ‘Halloween ’01.’ And you know what was in there? Marilyn Monroe’s dress from Seven Year Itch.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Chin said through laughter. “No, there’s no way -”

“Oh, it gets better,” Danny assured him over the sound of everyone’s laughter.

“Cut to me managing to somehow strip off my Danny Zuko outfit in favor of this little white number. I obviously got nothing going on up top so I decide to grab a box of Kleenex and stuff it, making sure the tissue doesn’t show in that absurd plunging neckline and everything. When I finished, I looked in the mirror and decided that just the dress wouldn’t do, so I grabbed the wig and heels. The wig worked out fine but the heels were murder because her feet were smaller than mine.

“At this point I decide I’m totally invested, so I go to her vanity and put on bright red lipstick. As I’m about to leave the room and show the world how bad I look in drag, I see her keys on the nightstand and a little bottle next to it that looks like it’s perfume. So there I am, wearing six inch fuck-me heels, a backless dress, hooker red lipstick, and a wig that’s twice the size of my head, and I think ‘go big or don’t go at all.’ I pull off the cap and I spray it.

“Only it turns out it wasn’t perfume.” Danny paused for dramatic effect, making sure their attention was firmly on him. “It was mace.”

Lou recoiled in horror. “Oh, hell no!”

Kono gasped and covered her mouth in shock and Chin looked speechless. Steve was caught in an in-between state of wanting to express some form of sympathy and laughing hard enough to wake the neighbors. What won out was him laughing the ugliest laugh he had, the one where he snorted and his eyes leaked and he had a hard time catching his breath. They all looked at him in reproach for his lack of decorum with smiles tweaking the corners of their lips, like they wanted to join him but were choosing the more civilized reaction.

“That’s cute, Steven,” Danny said sarcastically. “I’m glad my pain can serve as amusement for you.”

“You maced yourself!” he cried through his laughter.

At his pronouncement, the rest of the team joined in his laughter, Danny waving his hands as if he were dismissing them, a smile on his face. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.”

“Okay, okay,” Kono started as she wiped away tears after minutes of laughing. “I need the rest. Keep going.”

When everyone else signaled that they were good, Danny got back into storytelling mode, pointing in Steve’s general direction.

“Now as Steve was kind enough to point out, I maced myself. And I have to be honest, it is so much worse than you’d think. My eyes swelled shut, snot was pouring out of my nose, I was coughing hard enough for my ribs to hurt, the skin on my face burned like a motherfucker. And I did the one thing you’re not supposed to do: I panicked.

“I start fumbling around for the door hoping to get into the bathroom and splash water on my face so it stops fucking burning, but instead of getting hold of the bathroom door handle, I grab the one leading back into the hall. For some insane reason, it didn’t compute for me at the time to just go back into the room and try again for the correct door since they were right next to each other, so I stumbled into the hall and try navigating it, hoping to get back to Matty and Rachel so they could help me.

“In my sad attempt at finding my way back to them, I trip over someone’s foot and spin around in my heels, aggravating my bad knee. Some people were trying to talk to me and help me regain my balance, but I hurried away from them because I was scared and just wanted to get to my family. In my disorientation, I start walking in the wrong direction, only realizing it was the wrong direction when I feel a gust of cold air hit me. Before I know what’s happening, I fall down the steps of their porch and onto the walkway.

“By this point, I’m so frustrated that I want to cry, but I can’t because the mace dried out my eyes. I somehow get back up to my feet, ankle hurting from it twisting during the fall, when I hear sirens blaring. I didn’t know it at the time, but the neighbors called the cops with a noise complaint and they were coming to break the party up. But I didn’t care about that at the time. I was just relieved someone was finally there who could help me.

“I start staggering in their direction and suddenly one of them yells for me, ‘Marilyn Monroe,’ to put my hands in the air. Now remember, I just maced myself, so I’m coughing to the point where I can’t talk and I’m running my hands all over my face because it hurts. I try to strike some sort of balance between what he wants and what I can do, so I put one arm up and extend my elbow out on the other one so they can see I’m not a threat, but I can keep the hand on my face. I try to hold still, but instead I lose my balance and trip forward, arms flailing to break the fall. And that’s when it happened. I got stunned.”

“What!? Hold up.” Kono shrieked in indignation. “You got stun gunned by a cop!? Why?”

“Anybody care to venture a guess?” Danny asked the group at large.

Steve rubbed at his chin as he mulled over the question. “They obviously thought you were threat.”

“Of course he thought I was. But why?”

“Please tell me you have the answer and aren’t just telling us this story so we can try and figure it out for you after all these years.”

Danny looked at Lou, clearly offended and gesturing at himself. “Look at this face. Does this look like the face of a man who would get stunned and not find out why?”

“Keep in mind that’s also the face of a man who called Hershey to complain that the price of his peppermint patties were going up at the same time he thought they were getting smaller.”

“Fuck you, Steve! You know they were. And you know what? They went back to their normal size and price after a month.”

“You think that happened because of your complaint?”

“Yes, I do!”

Chin smirked at Danny. “You seriously called Hershey to complain about the size and price of peppermint patties?”

Before Danny could respond, because he looked ready to unleash a rant, Steve interrupted. “You wanna know the worst part? He doesn’t even buy his own peppermint patties. I do.”

“You buy Danny peppermint patties?” Kono asked, a look in her eyes that said she was reading further into the gesture than he wanted her to.

“Yeah. There’s a supply of them in the fridge right now.”

“And you wanna know the best part? They’re the right size,” Danny answered, looking inordinately proud of himself. “You’re welcome.”

“Okay, now that we all know who to thank for regular sized, reasonably priced peppermint patties,” Kono giggled as she pat Danny’s knee. “Can we get back to why a cop stunned your ass?”

“Actually, he stunned my neck. But yes, let me tell you why some genius stunned me.” Shaking his head, he rubbed at his neck, probably around where he got hit. “He thought I was on angel dust!”

Lou gaped at Danny. “He thought you were on PCP!?”

“He took one look at my outfit, the crazed look on my face, and erratic movements and figured I was high on more than life. I woke up handcuffed to a bed in the hospital, head aching and praying for death. Luckily they kept the whole thing off the record after they found out I was a cop, so it didn’t follow me back to the precinct. I think it also goes without saying that was the most bizarre night of my life.”

Kono looked at a loss for words as she stared at him. “That was wild from start to finish.”

“Man, I wish I knew you back when you were just as crazy as our resident Super SEAL.”

“What did I say about that?”

“Story is finished now, Danny,” Chin said, trying to sound apologetic but missing by a mile. “You got nothing to hold over him now.”

“I want it noted that I’m not crazy.”

They all turned to look at Steve with identical expressions of disbelief.

“Yeah, no one’s buying that one, babe.” Danny rubbed his arm. “But we love you anyway.”

Steve wrapped his arms around his chest and turned away as if he were hurt, none of them buying it because they laughed.

“Hey, Danny.”

“Yes, Kono?”

“How long since you played Truth or Dare?”

Everyone faced Kono and her positively devilish expression. She was scheming, Steve could feel it. When he glanced back at Danny, he had the same look. Red alert klaxons rang in his head, but there didn’t seem to be much he could do to stop this train from going off the rails.

“Not since that night. Why?”

“Because I propose a round. Right now.”

“You’re on.”

“I’m in,” Chin said as he drank what was left of his beer, probably for courage. Steve could sympathize.

Throwing his arms up, Lou gave in. “Why the hell not? I’m in.”

“Come on, Steve,” Kono cooed, as if it would make him feel better. “Don’t chicken out.”

He was not as easily baited as Marty McFly, but he knew he had to play along with everyone else or get made fun of for probably ever. “Fine. I’m in.”

Kono clapped her hands in victory. “Yes! Steve, truth or dare?”

Letting his face show his disapproval of being picked first, he said, “Dare.”

“Show off a hidden talent.”

Steve smiled because he came out of the dare far more unscathed than he thought he would and he had a hidden talent he thought was, at the very least, entertaining. He got up from his seat and walked to stand in front of the lanai door.

“Alright, check this out.”

Making sure they were all watching him, Steve put on a show of cracking his fingers and jumping up and down as if to get himself ready. Just when they looked to be getting impatient with him, he cartwheeled into a handstand and once he got his balance, he started walking on his hands across the lanai and down onto the lawn. It was to cheers that he fell back into a standing position.

“You can walk on your hands!?” Kono asked. “How did you figure that out?”

“I just saw it on one of those stupid family home video shows and thought I would try it because it looked cool.”

“I always wanted to hear the story about the 600th time he fell on his head,” Danny said. “Thanks for that dare, Kono.”

Steve smacked the back of his head as he took his seat. “Don’t make me beat you.”

“Your turn, Steve. Pick someone.”

For a second he thought about turning it back around on Kono, but decided to pick Chin. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

Thinking on it for a minute, he laughed when he came up with what he felt was the perfect dare for him. “Imitate Danny for a minute.”

“Why should I!?” Chin bellowed with a Jersey accent and flailing hands. “Don’t tell me what to do, Steven. I am a sane, law abiding citizen; unlike you, who sleeps with a copy of How to Break the Geneva Conventions Legally on your nightstand. Speaking of which, do you know how many of them you violated today? Three. Three, Steven! In one interrogation!” Standing up, he kept his arms flailing and walked with a distinct swagger in his step. “And then you had the gall to take my keys so we could go check out a lead from the illegal interrogation. Why do you do that, Steve? Huh? Why do I not get to drive my own car? I got to drive my own car when I was in Jersey. I miss Jersey so much, with its shitty pay-to-enter beaches, bad spray tans, and Saint Springsteen. Sometimes, when I’m blessedly alone and not getting shot at, I clutch a Jersey postcard to my chest and cry into my lasagna, which is not from Sal’s so I cry some more. Gone are the days when I was surrounded by concrete and steel and now I’m forced to stare at coconuts and pineapples. Pineapples! Which you all insanely put on your pizza! What did pizza ever do to you to deserve such debasement!?”

Steve could barely see through the tears he was laughing so hard. They were all laughing, but the one laughing the hardest was probably Danny. He had a hand clutching his chest and he looked to be trying to catch his breath. Chin’s impression had been dead-on and it was all the funnier considering his normal disposition.

Chin bowed before he took his seat. “Thank you, thank you very much.”

“Lord, that was perfect,” Lou complimented as he regained his composure.

“Spot on, cuz.”

“That was beautiful, babe. Beautiful.”

“Who knew you could do such a perfect Jersey accent?” Steve laughed. “You’re up. And pick wisely.”

Pointing at Lou, Chin smiled and leaned forward. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth. I love ya’ll, but I don’t trust you to not make me reenact Lake Michigan.”

“Damn!” He slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair to look like he’d disappointed him. “Okay. What’s your guilty pleasure?”

“Rom coms.” Lou looked simultaneously like he didn’t want to admit it, but felt liberated doing so. “Whenever Renee goes out and I have the room to myself, I stay in bed and watch a rom com.”

“Favorite one?”

“Pretty Woman! Come on! My girl Julia killed it in that one.”

Danny lifted his glass of water in his direction. “That was a good one.”

“My turn now. Kono, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Do the worm.” Pointing at his heart, Lou said, “Make this 80s man proud.”

“That’s my best dance move!” She walked onto the lawn and pointed at everyone since they were all leaning on the lanai railing to watch. “Watch and learn, gentlemen.”

Kono dropped to the ground and rolled her body to do the dance move, somehow making it look graceful even though everything about it wasn’t. They gave her a round of applause as she came back up to the lanai and sat down.

“That only leaves one of us,” Kono said ominously as she turned to the only one who hadn’t taken a turn. “Truth or dare, Danny?”

“Truth. I’m with Lou. I don’t trust you with this game.”

Tapping her finger on her chin, she acted like she was deeply considering what she was going to ask, but Steve could tell she already had something in mind and the red alert klaxons he had been hearing earlier returned in full force.

“Have you ever kissed a guy?”

And there it was. Steve’s stomach dropped and he put a lot of effort into appearing as if he wasn’t on the verge of running for the hills. A part of him very badly wanted to hear the answer, but everything else in him dreaded it. Hearing the answer would burst the little fantasy world he lived in, the one where Danny could _potentially_ be interested in him. When he said that he hadn’t or that it was only on a dare, Steve wouldn’t be able to pretend anymore without the knowledge souring his thoughts. It had worked for him for over six years now and he was sad that it was about to end.

“Who said I only kissed him?”

Steve only vaguely registered the group’s surprised yells through the roaring in his ears. He could tell Danny wasn’t lying, he looked confident and amused that he had caught them all off guard. He knew he wasn’t reacting appropriately, just sitting there frozen in place with a thousand yard stare, but he couldn’t make himself move. Now that he knew Danny had been with a man, his mind began whirring through all the moments when he thought Danny had also felt the spark between them. Maybe their innocent flirting hadn’t been so innocent. Maybe he had meant it, even hoped for it to become something more. For the moment, Steve didn’t know whether this revelation made everything better or worse.

“You cannot drop a bombshell like that and not give us some deets! What did he look like?”

“Which one?”

That sent everyone reeling, Chin and Kono shouting “wow” and Lou nearly falling out of his chair. Steve knew he still wasn’t reacting quite right, but everyone was far too focused on Danny to notice. He looked so alive, happy and smug and ready to drop more earth shattering information.

“The first one.”

“Average height. Fit. Long black hair and emerald green eyes. He was a drummer in some local rock band. I saw them play one night and they came into the bar after their set. He came over to me and, well, I’m sure you can put two and two together.”

“He sounds hot.”

“He was hot,” he assured her with a teasing smirk. “Spent the weekend with him before he had to continue with his bar tour and I had to go back to class.”

“So this happened when you were in college?” Lou asked now that he had recovered.

“Yup. Freshman year.”

Chin tapped Kono on the arm to get her attention. “Wanna bet they played a Springsteen cover and he fell in love?”

“You know, now that I think about it, they did play a cover of ‘I’m on Fire.’”

Another round of everyone laughing started, one that Steve was yet again not a part of. He wanted to play along, but the most he could muster at the moment was an awkward smile. Sure enough, Danny noticed and turned to him, concern and something else in his eyes.

“You alright, babe?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I just -” Steve said, sounding stilted and nearly tripping over his words. “I’m kind of tired all the sudden.”

It was the oldest and worst excuse in the book and Steve knew it. So did Danny.

“It is getting late,” Lou added as he looked at the clock on his cell.

Within five minutes they had all left after exchanging hugs and goodbyes, leaving Steve alone on the lanai with only his thoughts and Danny’s unsure expression.

~

“This is stupid. This is stupid. This is so stupid,” Steve mumbled to himself as he stopped at a red light and tugged for the millionth time at the hem of his very short dress.

A week ago Rachel had announced that she was taking Grace and Charlie to Las Vegas to see Stan for the week and in an attempt to keep Danny from becoming upset at the prospect of spending Halloween without his kids, the team decided to get together and go to a party on the North Shore. It sounded like a great idea until Steve was at the costume store looking for something that would even fit his stature when Danny called.

_“What are you doing? Is my story about donuts literally saving a cop’s life not interesting enough to keep your attention?”_

_“No, it is. I’m just trying -” Steve started before he saw the perfect costume in his size. “Bingo!”_

_“Bingo? What, are you at a retirement complex playing with some fellow senior citizens?”_

_Rolling his eyes, Steve picked up the bag. “You’re the same age I am, Daniel.”_

_“Yeah, but I age like a fine wine.”_

_“Maybe like one at the bottom of the ocean,” he retorted. “I finally found a costume.”_

_“What is it?”_

_“Maverick!”_

_“Nope.”_

_“Nope? What do you mean ‘nope?’”_

_Danny sighed at the end of the line. “I’m already going as Maverick.”_

_“What!? No way.”_

_“Way. I bought it yesterday. Before you. Meaning you have to put yours back.”_

_“But Danny -”_

_“No buts!” he interrupted. “I got it first.”_

_“But nothing else fits me!” Steve put the costume bag back and frowned, punching the bag next to it. “Just this stupid ‘sexy Maverick’ outfit.”_

_“Then go as sexy Maverick,” Danny laughed._

_“No way. I’m not going to -”_

_“I dare you.”_

_In a moment he would later testify to as being a moment of insanity, he glared at the costume and decided ‘why not.’_

_“Fine,” he bit at Danny and hung up._

Which is how Steve finds himself driving to Danny’s wearing a ‘sexy Maverick’ dress, knee-high boots, and a long brunette wig. The wig was okay, but the dress kept sliding up his legs and it was a bitch to drive in heels. He felt a new appreciation for women who wore them and no small sense of relief when Danny’s house came into sight. Pulling into the driveway, he put on the aviators that had been hanging in the low neckline to finish off the look. Much like Danny had when he was Marilyn, he decided if he was going to do this, he was all in.

Except for shaving his legs. He didn’t even want to consider how long it would have taken to shave all the hair off.

“I’m gonna kill you for making me do this,” Steve announced as he walked into Danny’s house.

“I’m not making you do -,” Danny was saying as he came around the corner in the kitchen when he saw Steve and froze in his steps. Shaking his head as if to clear his head, he walked into the living room to stand near Steve. “Wow. You look – you look good.”

“The only good thing about this outfit is my ass.” Steve turned to the side and he saw Danny’s eyes drift slowly downward. “Look at this. Everything about this is terrible except for how great my ass looks.”

“I, um, I see it. Yes.”

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and shuffled his feet, looking away with color rising in his cheeks. Steve felt like there was something here, like this could finally be _the_ moment after six years of moments. The flirting had gotten more blatant since that night of truth or dare when Steve realized he may actually have a chance. Danny had tiptoed around him for a day or two, likely taking his bad reaction for some level of rejection, which it definitely wasn’t and Steve made sure to ramp up the flirting to reflect that.

They were bound to eventually find themselves here. There was only so long where you could flirt and it didn’t come to a breaking point.

“Admit it. You think my ass looks great.”

“Yeah, it does,” he said, swallowing audibly. “It looks good.”

Steve walked up to him and the heels exacerbated their height difference, almost making him loom over Danny. “Feel this,” he said as he reached out and took Danny’s hand in his to place it on his ass, pressing on his hand so his fingers grabbed it. “You could bounce quarters off this ass.”

“Steve,” Danny said breathlessly, his fingers digging in further.

“Danny.”

For a suspended moment, they both seemed to stand there taking in the implications of what was happening. That they had finally gone too far to pretend that what was going on wasn’t going to happen. Feeling bold, Steve grabbed the front of Danny’s flight suit costume and walked backwards until his back hit the door.

“You wanna know the one other good thing about this outfit?”

“What’s that?”

Steve grabbed Danny’s other hand and moved it to the zipper running down the front of his dress. Closing his thumb and forefinger on it, he guided Danny’s hand downward so it started to unzip.

“The zipper runs down the whole dress.”

Danny moaned as more skin was revealed until his entire front was exposed. The dress parted so the sides hung on him like an unbuttoned shirt. All he was wearing underneath the dress were black boxer briefs and he knew Danny saw how hard he was already. Sliding down the door so he was more level with him, he took the plunge and pulled Danny into a kiss.

That first kiss opened the proverbial floodgates and Danny was all over him. His hands grabbed at any skin he could reach as he kissed him deeply, tongue running along the top of his mouth. Steve was overwhelmed, surrounded by Danny’s smell and taste, his touch making him tremble, and all he found he could do was push into him hoping for more friction.

Responding to his need, Danny unzipped the front of his flight suit and let it pool around his feet. He was still wearing a shirt and boxers, but the push and pull was delicious, the friction making Steve moan into his mouth. Steve could feel his climax approaching fast and he tightened his hand on Danny’s ass and gripped his hair.

“Oh, fuck,” Danny groaned as he pushed against Steve one last time before he came.

Steve wasn’t far behind and he came with a loud moan, his body shaking as it adjusted to the high. He was breathing heavily and he allowed his legs to give out, sliding the rest of the way down the door with his legs splayed and Danny between them, his back resting against his front.

“Kono’s evil.”

Steve’s responding laugh was winded and he belatedly realized he was still wearing his aviators when his nose scrunched up. “She knew exactly what she was doing when she started that game.”

“I bet if I took dare she would’ve made me kiss you.”

“No.” Steve smiled when Danny turned around and started kissing his neck. “She just wanted to give us the tools to finally end our own misery.”

**Author's Note:**

> picturing Steve in a sexy Maverick costume is my new favorite pastime
> 
> Thank you for your kudos, comments, critiques, angry banshee screams, or whatever you leave for me here or at my Tumblr ***[mycroft-silently-judges-you](http://mycroft-silently-judges-you.tumblr.com)***


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